Tuition & Assistance

Payment in two installments, due April 30th and November 30th. A financing fee will be charged per student.

Payment in ten installments, due monthly beginning April 30th to January 31st. A financing fee will be charged per student.

The traditional Annual Contract is the historical contract agreement we have had with our families.  It is a one-year, binding contract with the parents and their student for a single school year.

The Divisional Contract is an optional contract agreement families are able to choose with a multi-year agreement which allows parents to enroll their student for the duration of the student's division and Good Shepherd agrees to honor the tuition rate table in place at the time of signing for the duration of the contract.

Families may choose to opt in to a Divisional Contract (and set a tuition rate table), rather than the traditional Annual Contract, which will remain in effect for the years the student is in the division. When the student is promoted into the next division, our families will have the choice to opt in to a new Divisional Contract for those upcoming years in that next division or choose a traditional Annual Contract. Tuition may be paid annually or throughout the year, in the same way our annual contracts are paid. 

Early Childhood Division: Pre-K, Kindergarten, and the option of Primer (potentially a three-year term)
Lower School Division: First-Fourth grades (four-year term)
Middle School Division: Fifth-Eighth grades (four-year term)

A family will know the total tuition cost for the years their student(s) stay(s) in the division. For a student enrolled in the program from Pre-K through 8th grade, the cost savings for that family is estimated to be approximately $19,000 per student. For families with more than one student, the savings can be significant.

For a family to qualify for a Divisional Contract, they must commit to stay at Good Shepherd for their student's entire division term. If a family expects to apply out mid-division, they will need to choose a traditional Annual Contract. If a family applies out in a year they have selected a Divisional Contract, the contract will automatically convert to an Annual Contract for the entirety of the term at the higher tuition rate, and additional charges will apply.

If a family suffers a financial hardship for any reason, they should contact the school to discuss the tuition assistance program.  The school will always first consider its ability to support a family through available funds from this program.

Choosing a Divisional Contract will not impact a family's eligibility for tuition assistance. The Tuition Assistance program will continue to be an annual evaluation of a family’s represented need for the upcoming school year. As such, you will continue to apply for assistance each year, and awards will be determined, and tuition adjusted annually, based on the school year and the amount awarded.

The Divisional Contract is a long-term contract, and if a family does breach the contract terms before the term ends, the contract will automatically convert to an Annual Contract for the entirety of the term at the higher tuition rate. Additional charges will apply.

Our tuition model must be a sustainable model for the school to ensure the excellence that you have come to expect. Because we must attract and retain quality faculty and staff, a lock-in tuition rate across an entire 10-year timeframe isn’t a sustainable option.

Tuition assistance is based on financial need. To determine how much financial assistance you need, schools use the School and Student Services (SSS) computations to first figure out how much you can contribute. SSS needs to know such information as:

• Family size
• Income from all sources
• Savings, investments, and other assets (including home equity)
• Children's assets
• Indebtedness
• Medical, dental, and unusual expenses

This information, and much more, is collected through SSS on the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) and shared with all the schools you want to receive it. The PFS is called a common application, or common app, because you only need to complete one application for many schools.

Most schools will require you to submit a copy of your most recently completed federal tax return to verify that the information you used on the application is true and accurate. In certain cases — for example, if you own a farm or business — you may also be asked for additional documentation.

School and Student Services (SSS) is used by more than 2,400 K-12 private schools and other organizations to help determine a family's ability to pay school costs. The service and process helps ensure all schools use the same methods and objective procedures to evaluate your tuition assistance application.

Good Shepherd allocates approximately 16% of the operating budget in support of tuition assistance. Approximately 25% of our students are on some level of assistance.

Yes, it is required that all families complete the process in SSS annually, including uploading all of the required documents.

All information is treated highly confidentially. The Chief Financial Officer and Operating Officer (CFOO) and Tuition Assistance Assistant (TA) are the only individuals at the school with access to your detailed information. The CFOO reviews all information and provides a summarized report to the Tuition Assistance Committee for determining awards. This committee is composed of several school administrators. Teachers and parents are not a part of this process and are never made aware of which students receive aid.

While the SSS portal provides encryption for your documents, we recommend social security numbers are redacted from all documents before uploading. Alternatively, you may bring hard copies to the front desk or email copies to support@gsesdallas.org.

There is no specific income limit. If you feel you cannot pay all the costs yourself, it’s worth asking whether assistance is available.

Tuition assistance awards are sent at the same time as enrollment contracts. Families will receive an email from the business office detailing the award amount or a regret letter if funds were not available for your request. For returning students, this occurs when re-enrollment contracts are published. New students will receive the award or regret letter at the time of the admissions decision letter.

SSS questions frequently ask for ANNUAL amounts, not monthly amounts. Families tend to underestimate their medical and unusual expenses. In the medical expense section, please include premiums that are deducted from paychecks, as well as all out of pocket expenses. For unusual expenses, some examples include legal costs, charitable contributions, child support payments and financial support to other family members. Please make sure to be thorough in your personal letter and family budget. These documents help support your case.

If you've read the online instructions but still have questions, call the SSS Customer Service Center toll free at (800) 344-8328).

Virtually all tuition assistance funds are distributed during the enrollment process from January to March. For late admitting students or families with a mid-year change in circumstances, the school wants to be as supportive as possible as allowed by budget. Please reach out to the CFOO in these cases.

The school wants all members of the community to feel a sense of belonging. Please reach out to the CFOO if your financial circumstances are hindering your community involvement, including participation in the Annual Fund campaign and GSPO events such as Carnival and Auction.